Exeter City won’t be bullied into selling Josh Key after Sunderland failed with a £1 million bid for the League Two star, manager Matt Taylor has told the BBC.
It seems Lee Johnson is no closer to unlocking a deal for one of the brightest talents in the fourth tier.
Now the inevitable ‘Key’ pun is out of the way, let’s move on to the more important stuff.
According to the Northern Echo, Sunderland made a £1 million bid for the versatile 21-year-old in July.
An Exeter academy graduate, Key shone during an impressive breakthrough season in 2020/21, starring at right-back while slotting into a number of other roles, from left-wing to centre-forward.
Right-back is probably where Key would play at Sunderland, however, given the club’s lack of options in what has become something of a problem position in recent seasons.
However, Exeter won’t let their prized asset go without a fight, their stance – and their coffers – strengthened by the big-money sale of Joel Randall to Peterborough United recently.
Sunderland need to increase their bid to capture Key
“Until a club gets even close to those figures where we value our players, it’s not even worth a discussion,” Taylor said when asked about Sunderland’s interest in Key.
“Josh knows that, his agent knows that and the bidding clubs know that as well. They can keep on coming back and forth as long as they want, it’s not time-wasting but it’s a null point.
“We’ve got our valuation of our player. Our valuations are flexible because the market can always change but Josh has got two years left on his contract. Joel had a year left on his and Josh still has a lot of game time – hopefully within our ranks.”
Sunderland have also been linked with Scotland international Stephen O’Donnell, while Nottingham Forest youngster Jordan Gabriel could be available.
The Wearsiders have missed out on Sean Clare, however, after Charlton Athletic snapped up the former Burton Albion ace.
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